What should I help my future 3rd grader learn this summer?

[Anonymous]

I learned that children will be learning two years worth of math in AAP next year. My son has never been to Kumon and he doesn't get pull outs so he is not really advanced in math. He scored really high in the Cogat and got into the AAP program, but he doesn't like to do homework and I want to make it easier on him by working a bit in the summer (we always work 1 1/2 hours a day every summer M-F so my kids are used to it.) I started teaching him the multiplication tables, but what else do you think is important for him to work on during the summer?

[Anonymous]

See what he WANTS to do that requires math skills. Like cooking, building, traveling, etc.

Get to know you kids, people.

[Anonymous]

1.5 hours a day in the summer?
Is this what most people do?
Is this why all the kids seem advanced...they're being taught the next year's curriculum over the summer?

[Anonymous]

OP, there's nothing wrong with supplemental curriculum over the summer. If you have the time to teach and your kid enjoy learning it, why don't you do it? Kids in Asian countries are learning all year round. AAP is just a joke. Look further, your child will compete with those Asian kids in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, there's nothing wrong with supplemental curriculum over the summer. If you have the time to teach and your kid enjoy learning it, why don't you do it? Kids in Asian countries are learning all year round. AAP is just a joke. Look further, your child will compete with those Asian kids in the future.

Why does everything have to be about Asian kids? They're not inherently more intelligent, just pushed harder to achieve more.
There is a lot moto to life than academic achievement. My kids enjoy life, spend weeks at camp, learn new sports, and spend time with friends and family in the summer. They've always been at the top of their class without ever doing work during the summer other than reading for pleasure.

[Anonymous]

Multiplication tables. We were supposed to and didn't. Apparently they don't actually teach them. It was a little rough for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1.5 hours a day in the summer?
Is this what most people do?
Is this why all the kids seem advanced...they're being taught the next year's curriculum over the summer?

No. They don 't.

I am skeptical about this poster.

Most people do cooking, calculating road trips, helping budget for groceries, etc for summer teaching tools.

[Anonymous]

I know people who got into AAP and got a tutor to get them up to speed in math over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know people who got into AAP and got a tutor to get them up to speed in math over the summer.

That explains why my dd says that everybody in her 7th grade algebra class knows algebra already and the teacher never gives more than one example and then just tells them to work on their homework. This has not been a great math year for my dd...who I expect to learn...IN school.

[Anonymous]

What a scam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See what he WANTS to do that requires math skills. Like cooking, building, traveling, etc.

I think this is a good place to start. (Kumon isn't evidence based and a waste of $.) Your kid will get a better grasp of math skills if he can put it in context not just drill worksheets.

For a little break you might find some fun games, e.g.,:
http://www.coolmath-games.com/

[Anonymous]

That's about what we do. Summer days are long and there is a lot of time to do just about everything.

Barnes & Noble has dozen's of workbooks to add some structure if you don't want to roll your own. We're going to try the Singapore math this summer....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's about what we do. Summer days are long and there is a lot of time to do just about everything.

Barnes & Noble has dozen's of workbooks to add some structure if you don't want to roll your own. We're going to try the Singapore math this summer....

Singapore is a different method of learning, so be prepared to reteach old concepts using new methods before moving forward.

[Anonymous]

The biggest and only thing you really need to have your child learn and practice this summer is the multiplication tables. They will be fine waiting for the rest in the fall. The AAP program knows that everyone entering in 3rd grade has only had through 2nd grade math, and your child will have the aptitude to pick up the curriculum well.

It's important to know that, unless things have changed in the last 2 years, the 3rd grade AAP classes will be taking timed math tests twice a week during the year. They will be given 100 math fact problems and will try to complete as many as they can in 5 minutes (ie. 4x9=36, 8x7=56, 12x11=121, etc). First they will start with addition. Once they are able to complete 100 addition problems with only 1 or no mistakes in 5 minutes, they then will move to subtraction. Same thing. Then multiplication (through 12s), then division (through 12s), then a mix of all. Once they finish that, they next move onto the same rotation again but this time completing 100 problems in 3 minutes, starting with addition, then subtraction and so on. This will take pretty much all year to reach the end and some won't finish entirely. My daughter made it through addition and subtraction in 3 minutes but didn't quite finish the rest before the year ended. It really does work in helping the kids memorize the multiplication and division facts. There's no way they can complete 100 multiplication or division fact problems in 5 minutes without having almost all if not all of them memorized. If they have to pause several times to calculate without just knowing them by memory, time will run out before they finish.

Of course some students are a little stressed at the beginning, doing these timed tests, until they've done them so many times it becomes rote. That's why practicing in the summer really helps...they're used to the time tests in the fall and, having practiced multiplication and division during the summer, can move through the stages at a quick pace which helps their confidence.

We had our daughter practice timed tests but in a different way during the summer before starting 3rd grade. Rather than seeing how many problems she could complete in 5 minutes (with there being some she didn't get to when the buzzer went off), we did it the opposite way. We had her start with 25 multiplication fact problems a night or every other night (changing them up of course), and seeing how long it took her to finish. Then the next time she'd do it again and try to beat her time from the last session. She loved the challenge of trying to beat her previous time and it made it a fun game for her. We started with multiplication fact problems 0-6, then 0-9, then 0-12. Once she had the whole 0-12 test down to a low time, we moved to division math facts, same process. By the time she started in the fall she was ready for the timed tests in class and not stressed about them at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1.5 hours a day in the summer?
Is this what most people do?
Is this why all the kids seem advanced...they're being taught the next year's curriculum over the summer?

No. They don 't.

I am skeptical about this poster.

Most people do cooking, calculating road trips, helping budget for groceries, etc for summer teaching tools.

Why are you skeptical? I stay home and have always bought books for the year ahead (reading comprehension and math) for my kids to do an hour or so each day. An hour to 2 hours is nothing. My kids also take art and swim lessons all summer and play outside every chance they get. I just make it part of their summer schedule. Heck, two of my neighbors have their kids attend academic camps. I just want to make sure my son doesn't struggle. There are 8 kids in his class that get pull outs and my son doesn't. Kids will be more advanced and I want to help him. So I started with multiplication, he knows up to the table of 5, and will continue 15 minutes a day doing the rest. I just wanted to know what else to focus on, that's it.